England has announced its 16-man squad for the upcoming Ashes series against Australia with the series begining on November 21 in Perth. Jacks, who has only two Test caps, has been named as the back-up off-spinner to Shoaib Bashir, leapfrogging more established names like Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed. Many would say the preference comes in place, more to do with his batting, than his ability to turn the ball.
The squad's announcement confirmed that Ben Stokes is "on track" for the series opener despite a recent shoulder injury that kept him out of the final Test against India. While his availability as a captain is confirmed, his contribution with the ball remains uncertain. Harry Brook has been appointed vice-captain, replacing Ollie Pope. Pope's position as the number three batter is now also contested by the youngster Jacob Bethell.
An optic that stands out is the pace bowling option, with the selectors having named five seamers, including Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and Josh Tongue. Wood returns after missing the entire English season due to a knee injury, while Archer is just two Tests into his comeback after a long injury lay-off. With these names a regular in clocking 140, it is to be seen if this is one of the fastest attacks that the brits have taken down south.
England will be looking to regain the Ashes after drawing the last series at home in 2023 and having not won in Australia since 2010-11. The core of the team, which includes Joe Root and openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, is largely settled. What is to be seen is England's "Bazball" approach, particularly for spinner Shoaib Bashir, who may be targeted by Australian batters.
The five-Test series will be played in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney. The team will first tour New Zealand for three T20s and three One-Day Internationals in preparation. The full squad includes: Ben Stokes (capt), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, and Mark Wood.